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Minutes of the Regular Meeting on April 11, 2013

Meeting began at 7:30 pm. Councilmembers Patrick Wojahn and Fazlul Kabir were present.

Presentations

JPI East aka. Jefferson – Representatives spoke on behalf of Metropolitan Development Group, which has been developing residential properties for 8 years, has taken over the JPI East development, which JPI had abandoned. Metropolitan will market these homes as “market rate development,” which means there will be no subsidy or price control, and the rental rate will fluctuate with the market. They will use the original detail site plan that was approved by the community, but with a few changes. There will still be four stories, and the height will step down away from US 1. There will be apartments on the US 1 (west) side of the properties, and townhouse units on the rest. All four sides will be 80% brick, 20% hardiboard, and no vinyl, a change from the original plan. Unit will have smaller Juliet balconies (only about 1 ft. deep to prevent them being used for bicycle storage). There will be 3900 sqft. of retail on the first floor, though less that originally planned, and it will be community oriented (e.g., drycleaner or a cafe) rather than destination oriented, which would have required much more parking. There will be no 3BR units, but there will be more units, and this will still conform to the approved number of trips. Amenities will include a pool, deck, and BBQ club; Metropolitan will look into the possibility of these being available to the wider community. There will be two garages per townhouse unit instead of asphalt parking, since they learned most people use garages as storage areas and crowd the street parking areas. The parking garage for the apartments will be inside the structure and not visible from any side except at its entrance. The goal is one parking space per bedroom; the current maximum is 1.45/unit. There will be a pedestrian oriented walk-through from Blackfoot north to Cherokee, and there will be two vehicle accesses: one on Cherokee and one on the east side. The City plans to abandon a 20ft. right of way on the east side, and Metropolitan will landscape that area to provide a buffer for the adjacent residential properties. Cherokee will get curbs and gutters and speed humps, and US 1 will get a northbound deceleration lane and a bus shelter. The building will also be moved back a bit from US 1. The development will be base LEED certified; the sector plan requires silver LEED in walkable nodes. The townhouses will be for sale only, not for rent.

Gateway Eco Park – Zolna Russel of the firm Floura Teeter, presented a conceptual plan for the Gateway Eco Park. This will be a small, local park, not a destination park, and therefore will not have any parking. The existing house will be removed but its foundation will be reused as the base for a pavilion. The park will use an adjacent parcel, which the City will purchase, thereby giving the neighborhood on the east safe pedestrian access to the park; some park benches will be positioned along this path. The main access to the park will be from Edgewood Road over the roof of the new pavilion; from there a winding path will proceed to the lower level, where it will connect to the pavilion and the other access path. The pavilion, which will be locked, can store items that can be used for community functions. The park will use some State right-of-way; they are cooperating so that the park will accommodate later improvements to US 1. A dry streambed will collect rain water. The goals are to provide an educational resource, use sustainable practices, and involve local art. In partnership with NOAA, a Wind and Weather display plan will be used to teach about rainfall, weather, climate, and more.

Announcements and Reports

At this time the meeting took a short recess; snacks and beverages were served.

After the meeting resumed, the following announcements were made: on 5/4 the CBE will host a workshop on green roofs, 10am-12pm, at City Hall; on 4/29 there will be a Budget Town Hall meeting at Davis hall, 7-9pm; the North College Park Farmers Market will start in June and will operate in the service road at the NW corner of the four corners area; on 5/20 the Downtown Farmers Market will open at City Hall; on 4/12 at 7pm at the College Park Community Center there will be a Dream Team basketball game; on Saturdays in April the Public Works yard at Davis Hall will be open for recycling electronics; the Neighborhood Quality of Life committee will be holding a public forum.

Moved by David Turley/Bob Seward: Approve the minutes of NCPCA March 14 meeting with one change: the cost for copying minutes was $57.24. Motion passed.

Treasurer Cheryl Molinatto reported a current balance of $1,326.21; no expenditures have been paid since the last meeting. There were no other officer reports.

New Business

There was a request to add the following to the May meeting agenda: North College Park Farmers Market, a wrap-up of the 2013 legislative session by the 21st District Delegation, and a discussion of crosswalk lights across Rhode Island Ave. For June or July the agenda will include the Parks Master Plan, various Hollywood Neighborhood Park issues, and the development of the old Koons Ford property.

Nominating Committee. Jackie Pearce-Garrett and Cheryl Molinatto will serve as the Nominating Committee for the Election of NCPCA Officers on June 13th. The positions of Vice President and Treasurer will be vacant, so we will need volunteers for these positions. Please nominate yourself or others for these important positions.